


Infinity

by extrablank



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama & Romance, F/M, Light Angst, Other, Reader-Insert, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Spoilers if you haven’t finished the game, reader is female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-05-25 15:45:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14980370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/extrablank/pseuds/extrablank
Summary: Your soul mark wasn't a name. It was a serial number.





	1. Chapter 1

Almost everyone has a mark. A name etched onto your wrist, a way to guide you to the person who completed you in every way.

Most people only got a first name, some of the luckier ones got a full name. There were the ones who had marks in a language they didn’t know or the pitiful few who had no mark at all.

You probably would’ve counted yourself as one of the lucky ones to have a soul mark, after all it’s better than having nothing.

The issue though was that your mark wasn’t a name. It was a serial number. One that was clearly related to an android of some kind.

(Or at least you hoped so, and that it wasn’t the code to a toaster or something along those lines.)

When you were old enough to begin understanding what soul marks where your father had sat you down, a frown on his face as he told you to never show anyone your mark. Your mother looking pale next to him as she put a watch over the numbers on your left wrist.

They liked to pretend you didn’t have a soulmark.

But you didn’t understand why you had to hide it. After all, aren’t soul marks meant to be a good thing?

So, in your youthful naivety you had proudly shown everyone on the playground when it had come up in conversation. Proud of the uniqueness. Excited to share in something everyone was talking about.

It was a mistake.

They had taken one look at the mark and disgust had marred their features. Then began the whispers. Hushed voices calling you a freak, gossip as to why you didn’t have a name and why was it numbers like the ones that _androids_ had?

You embraced hiding your soul mark from then on.

Your parents pretended your mark didn’t exist and androids were never brought into your house.

They wanted to keep the social status they had worked hard for. Your dad was a respectable police officer, your mother the perfect house wife. And you tried to be the good daughter, the poor child with no mark.

You didn’t hate your mark, it was the ‘name’ of something that was meant to complete you. But you did wonder why, after all what did it say about you when your soul mark wasn’t even a name?

(You did try searching for the numbers once, just after graduation. Your hands shaking with a kind of fearful hope. Nothing came up.

You even rang Cyber Life after the search came up blank, a little bit drunk after the graduation celebration and mostly terrified of actually finding out.

They didn’t have a model with that code.

You stopped looking.)

**\------------------------**

“I’m going to get doughnuts, you want some?”

You nod dazedly as your desk buddy moves to grab their jacket from the chair. You’d both had to pull all-nighters this week after following leads for the Red Ice dealer you had been tracking and it was taking a toll.

“You’re a life saver Wilson!” You manage to croak out to him as you roll your shoulders and lean back in your chair. Your hand fidgeting with the watch on your left wrist absentmindedly.

It must’ve been a tough week if you were doing that.

He gave you a wave before heading out. Your gaze drifts back to your computer pad, the blue lighting was beginning to make you see spots every time you blinked.

You shake your head trying to dispel the spots and stand up to head to the kitchen. Getting some caffeine sounded like a good plan as you waited for Wilson to bring back the goods.

As you neared the kitchen you resisted the urge to immediately go back to your desk as Gavin Reed’s back came into view. It was tough enough typing up a report running on little to no sleep but dealing with Reed was another challenge all together.

“…bring me a coffee, dipshit!”

You’re startled out of your thoughts at the angry command and your curiosity wins out as you walk into the kitchen.

The first thing you notice is Tina sitting at the table, a worried look on her face, she catches your gaze and gives you a shrug to your questioning look.

_Helpful Tina. Real helpful._

Frown deepening you turn to see who Reed’s shouting at today.

“I said bring me a _fucking_ coffee you plastic prick.” Reed was aggressively moving closer to the poor soul that was suffering his wrath. As you’re standing a bit further back you can only see bits of brown hair and a distinct neon blue armband.

 _So he’s bullying another android again_.

The plastic insult made more sense now. (And if your hand went to your watch as you realised it was an android, you ignored the usual feelings that came with it.)

You really wanted to stay out of this, Reed’s temper tantrums were legendary, and he held grudges for a _long_ time. However, although you liked to pretend your soul mark wasn’t there, it was hard to not get involved when people were hurting androids when your soulmate could be one of them.

Letting out a loud sigh, your eyes land on his full coffee cup on the table.

“Hey Reed, if you could stop being a dick for a second, you’ve got perfectly good coffee here-“ You pick up the cup and wave it at him. “and if you seriously still want a new coffee I was planning on making a new pot.”

“Stay the fuck out of this. It’s between me and this fucking piece of plastic.” Reed doesn’t even bother turning to look at you as he speaks, glare fixed firmly on the silent android in front.

You roll your eyes at his attitude and move closer, catching brown eyes on you as your gaze flickers briefly to the android.

“Look, the androids in the precinct aren’t here to make us coffee. Just drink your coffee or I can make you a new one. Leave the poor guy alone.” You were stood next to them as you spoke, and you try to hand Gavin his coffee.

“Fuck off! This one’s a fucking piece of- aw shit.”

During his tirade at you, his waving hand had hit the coffee cup you had been holding into the android and you. Most of it had spilled onto the android but some had gotten onto your white button up.

You shot Reed a glare.

Reed didn’t back down though and he gave you a glare back. “I told you to stay out of this detective. Fuck. This ain’t worth my time.”

With an annoyed huff he walked out. A chair scrapes and Tina gives you a pat on your shoulder before following him.

“Are you okay?”

You turn to face the soothing voice speaking to you and try not to blush as your eyes meet rich chocolate hues.

The first thing you notice is that the android is unfairly attractive.

He had taken off his jacket after the coffee spill and was holding it across his arm. The white button up he wore was well fitted and stretched across his broad shoulders that emphasised his lithe build. Your eyes couldn’t help but do a thorough look over as it slid from his face and over his well-proportioned body.

_Why are they always made to be so good looking?_

Realising you’d been staring for too long to be normal you turn to the coffee maker as a means of looking busy.

 “I-I'm fine thanks!” The embarrassment as you stumble over your sentence is painful as you try not to turn around to continue ogling at him.

“Are you sure, as I am detecting a rapid rise in temperature and heart palpitations. Did you get hurt when the coffee got on you?” He moves closer as he speaks. You fluster with the coffee machine and try to will your warm face to stop blushing.

“Yep! Totally fine. Just a bit warm in here.” You turn around once the machine is on and nearly knock into it when you realise how close he had gotten to you. “W-who are you exactly?”

You cringe at your stumble, but his _face_ is awfully distracting to you. A part of you is beginning to get a bit concerned over how much this android is affecting you.

“My name is Connor. I’m the android sent by Cyber Life to assist Detective Anderson.” He gives a small smile as he finishes his sentence and your heart gives a pathetic jump at how well it suits his face.

 “So, you’re working with Hank. He’s not so bad once you get past the gruff exterior,” The coffee machine beeps and you turn to pour yourself a cup. “-his bark is worse than his bite.”

Connor moves to the side of you as you’re making your coffee, his eyes following your movement with intense focus that can only come from an android. “I will keep that in mind during my interactions with Detective Anderson. Thank you for the information.”

Your try to tamp down the grin that is stretched on your face as he talks, there’s something about him that makes him seem like a puppy looking for someone to follow.

 “May I query who you are too?” His eyes move to your face and you feel your tummy flutter as you stare back at him.

You give him your name before explaining your role. “I’m a detective on the Red Ice task force, Nice to meet you.”

You stick your hand out for him to shake out of habit and Connor stares at it long enough that you’re about to put your hand down in embarrassment before he puts his hand in yours.

It's a bit bigger than yours and is surprisingly warm for an android. You feel, weirdly comfortable with Connor and you both hold each other’s gaze. He opens his mouth to speak when a voice cuts through the strange tension that had developed.

“So this is where you were.“ Hanks face pops through the door way. He raises an eyebrow at your weird handshake gripping. before he walks away. “Sorry to interrupt the hand holding here but Connor, we gotta go."

You immediately drop Connor’s hand as you fluster at Hank’s comment.

“It was nice meeting you detective. I look forward to talking to you again.” He gives you another blush inducing smile before following Hank out.

Try as you might your gaze can’t help but stare at his ass as he walks away.

“Why’re you staring at Hank’s androids ass?” You spin around, the blush you had just willed away coming back in full force as Wilson stares at you with a smug grin on his face.

Ignoring him you look pointedly at his empty hands. “Where’s our doughnuts?” Wilson gives you a sheepish look as he points to the empty doughnut box in the bin.

“Rest of the precinct ambushed me when I got back. Plus,” Your partner raises a hand to stop your complaints at this injustice. “-we have to go, the dealer we were trying to find has been found dead at an apartment at Acre Avenue.”

You let out a tired sigh, damn, no doughnuts and annoyingly your mark is itching worse than it had been in a long time as you adjust the strap on your watch.

It’s not until a bit later, as you’re getting into the patrol car, that you realise that Connor was a model you had never seen before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this au there’s some canon divergence/slight changes to fit the plot I've planned.
> 
> The title is from the song by Jaymes Young :)


	2. Chapter 2

Your thoughts go back to Connor whilst Wilson drives you both to Acre avenue.

You try hard not to dwell on what model he is.

You rationalise that he’s probably just another new adapted police model Cyber Life is trying out or a new appearance on an old model. So there's no need to get your hopes up at all.

“Want me to ask Hank for details on his new android?”

Startled at Wilson’s question you give a flustered glower at him. However, the redness on your cheeks doesn’t help your attempt at looking composed.

“Nope. No need.”

He chuckles at your defensive reply before responding. “Don’t act like you didn’t stare at his ass earlier.”

You don’t think you’ve blushed this much in one day.

“It’s not my fault that Cyber Life makes them look athestically pleasing. And there’s no need to pester Hank with any questions,” you get a pensive look on your face as you turn to stare back out the window. “-he’s got enough on his plate right now.”

Wilson makes a noise of agreement at you but lets the topic go as you punch his arm in jest.

“Fair enough. Don’t worry, if I _happen_ to hear anything I’ll let you know.”

He gives your shoulder a nudge to show he’s only teasing you. Wilson had always known you had a soft spot for androids. When he’d been assigned as your partner you had tried to hide it, but he’d seen the way you interacted with androids.

You tended to treat them too much like humans, like they had true emotions. (And he may have seen the way you glanced at their wrists in the years you’d known each other.)

He was a good guy though and never asked or judged. Not about androids and not about your soul mark.

You had debated telling him your soul mark but had decided not to in the end. There was no need now and it wasn’t like you’d be able to explain the why or the how.

In return you never brought up his bare wrists, waiting until he was ready to tell you.

It’s a comfortable silence for the rest of the journey and before you know it you reach the place.

You step out of the car and stare at the shabby looking apartment building that stands before you. No surprises considering the neighbourhood it’s in. What does surprises you is the patrol car outside already.

“Isn’t that Hank’s car?” You query as you scan the area around the building.

“I think so. Must mean your android is here too.” A smirk on his face as he heads inside. “The more the merrier right?”

You roll your eyes at his quip and walk inside too.

It’s incredibly dusty inside with damp all over the ceilings. You shudder to think what the rooms are like with how poorly kept this was. The less time spent here the better as you see a sign for the staircase.

“265 right?” That would be far too many flights of stairs to deal with. Thankfully you spot an elevator as well. Walking towards it you stifle a sneeze as you kick up some dust. Wilson gives you a nod as he goes to stand beside you in the elevator. Whilst you both wait for it to reach the right floor, you notice fresh footprints left in the layer of dust on the floor.

_Probably from Connor and Hank_ _._

You feel a frisson of anticipation at seeing the android again.

You tell yourself it’s only because it’s always exciting seeing what new things Cyber Life have come up with.

(But a traitorous part of you knows it’s because you like to cling to any slither of hope at finding the android on your wrist.)

You don’t get a chance to dwell for much longer because as you’re both stepping out of the elevator a man in a cap suddenly runs out of an apartment heading straight for the fire exit.

Before either of you can react Connor also appears in the hallway, you get a glimpse of his handsome face before he’s gone out the fire exit too.

You share a look with Wilson before taking out your guns and running into the open doorway. Your eyes widen in alarm when you see Hank sitting against the wall, a hand clutching at his side. Wilson holsters his gun and rushes over to him as you scan the area.

“Were you shot?”

Hank shakes his head and instead of replying, he shouts your name and waves a hand towards the door. “Go after them!”

You spare Wilson a glance, and he nods at you to go before he turns back to assessing Hank.

You turn and run after the other pair, heading straight for the fire exit like they did. Once you’re outside you blink rapidly at the sudden light after being in the dim hallway.

You can just see the neon blue of Connor’s armband disappearing over wall and sprint as fast as you can to catch up with him.

Pushing yourself to run faster, you can see Connor’s deft figure and the man as you try to keep up. Your breaths are starting to come out in pants as your stamina protests at the break neck pace you’re trying to go at. You’re just managing to keep up behind them when you reach a ledge and they both jump onto a moving train. You take a moment in your head to gape at this, there was no way you would make a jump like that.

Not unless you wanted to break something.

You look around to see if you can find an alternative route and spot a way around. You had seen them both climb onto the Urban Fields buildings and there should be a nearby connection ladder. As you run across the ladder you can see them both heading towards the greenhouse.

The route you were taking was slightly more direct so it was possible you might even corner the man this way. You push yourself to go faster despite your legs protesting and as you turn around the corner you find the man’s back to you.

His hat had fallen off during the chase, and it’s when he turns around to face you that you notice the led flashing yellow and red on his temple.

_A deviant?_

He stares at you with wide eyes, gaze darting back and forth. He raises his hands up when you whip your gun out to point at him.

“Just stay calm, I don’t want to hurt you.”

And it’s true, you’ve always found it difficult to see them as just robots. It’s not only due to your soul mark but the emotions they can display is too human.

The fear on his face is too real to just be software errors.

The deviant looks at you, panic shaking his frame. He takes a hesitant step closer to you and you think that you may have reached through to him. There’s a tense silence as you decide to lower your gun in the hopes of calming him down more.

His led stops the rapid flashing between red and yellow as he sees you do this.

There’s increasingly loud rustling to your left, and you can see a familiar blue armband in the gaps of the corn. You don’t get a moment to relax though as the previously calm android is suddenly running at you, his led a dangerous red.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers in your ear as he tackles you. You’re too slow to shoot at him and he knocks you over the ledge. As you’re falling your eyes meet Connor’s just as he bursts through the cornfields. You find it bizarre that in that split second of catching his eyes and falling, you find yourself filled with relief.

As if just by having him nearby is comfort enough.

You manage to grab onto the ledge as you fall, adrenaline rushing through you as you grip tightly. You wonder if Connor’s already dealing with the android as you ready to pull yourself up.

After all, there’s no way he would prioritise you over the mission.

So you’re taken aback when strong hands grab at your arms as Connor helps you back up.

“Are you okay detective?”

There’s something that sounds like real concern in his voice as you pant slightly from the chase and being pushed over a ledge. He’s still gripping you by the arms and you half hope he doesn’t stop as you stare up at his face.

“I’m okay. You could’ve caught the deviant though if you had left me.” He frowns at your words and turns his head to look where the other android had run off.

“I couldn’t leave you there.”

He turns back to look at you. His led flashing yellow briefly before stabilising to blue. Your heart thuds furiously in your chest at his words and you open your mouth to respond when he lets go of you and takes a step back.

“We have to make sure no harm comes to any humans.”

You can only blink at his sudden explanation and try not feel disappointed.

What were you even thinking, being so absurdly pleased at his previous words. You nod at that and pick up the gun you had dropped when being pushed over.

“I’m sorry that you didn’t catch the android because of me.” You can’t help the dejected tone you have, a combination of feeling like a hindrance and the disappointment from his reason for helping you.

_Why am I feeling disappointed?_

You frown at yourself as you adjust the holster for your gun when he suddenly grabs your shoulder. “It’s not your fault, I should have been faster.” You stare up at him again and find him giving you a small smile. Maybe this was his attempt at reassuring you or maybe even his real thoughts.

Either way you feel a bit better knowing he didn’t blame you for losing the android.

“Thanks. Let’s head back, Wilson is with Hank. What happened before we go there...”

Your voice trails off as your eyes catch the numbers on his jacket.

Connor is busy answering your question and explaining the investigating they had been doing before the sudden chase; something about pigeons and letters on the wall but your focus is all on the numbers on his jacket.

You suddenly feel as if you’re dangling on that ledge again, adrenaline coursing through you as you stare at them.

They’re the same as the ones on your wrist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos! I read every comment and it’s really motivating + nice to see people enjoying the story. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> (Don’t worry next chapter is where it all picks up!)


	3. Chapter 3

\--

You’re currently at your house, still trying to process what you saw yesterday.

After seeing the numbers on his jacket, you had immediately asked Connor what they were.

How could you not?

He had looked at you with an endearing expression of confusion and explained how it was his serial code.

His real name in a way.

You hadn’t been able to say a word in response. Throat dry and mind a mess. You had barely reacted when he began giving you looks of concern as you remained relatively silent on your way back to your respective partners.

Wilson had been texting you since you’d practically ran out of the precinct in your rush, and even Hank had asked if you were okay as you’d hurried past him.

Connor standing next to him as usual, russet eyes burning into your back as you dashed home.

You had left your watch off and stared at deep shade of burgundy your mark was, much darker than the pale pink it had been. It was throbbing as you traced the numbers, as if now that you knew who it was the mark wanted nothing but to be near your other half.

This confirmed it all. The darker colouring meant you had finally found your soulmate.

Normally after finding each other the mark would compel you to be near each other, acting almost like a magnet. It would explain the pull you felt around him already.

(Although how any of this was working was beyond you. There were plenty of books on soul marks, but none for an android soulmate.

Was he even feeling the pull of the bond? Could he?)

Rationally, you knew that you should remain calm. After all, it would probably be best to see if he had a soul mark before getting too excited and go from there.

(It was also because you wanted to see him, to see the numbers again. After all, you never thought you would actually find him.)

Your heart aches though when you think about how he’ll react.

Will he even care?

Did he even _have_ a mark?

Trying to dispel the negative thoughts you reach for your phone, mind made up. Only to almost drop it as it starts ringing – Hank’s number flashing on the screen.

You pick up immediately, worry and anticipation filling you as you wonder if it has anything to do with Connor. You give a breathless greeting, there’s a pause as the person on the other line seems to hesitate before speaking.

“Hi detective, I’m sorry to bother you so late but I was wondering if you could help me?”

Your body relaxes as soon as you hear his voice.

“Connor,” just saying his name makes your heart beat a little faster as eagerness runs through you at the thought of potentially seeing him so soon. Perhaps you could finally see the mark you never thought you would. “-how can I help?”

You’re a little confused as to why he’s ringing from Hank’s phone, but it soon becomes clear as he explains his situation with the older man and alcohol.

“You were the one of the names I recognised on his phone and based on your previous messages with Detective Anderson I felt he would be least angry with your help.”

His explanation made sense, but it disappoints you that it had been pure logic that he had chosen to contact you.

Trying to Ignore the lingering dissatisfaction, you let him know you’ll be on your way.

Your mark throbs as you say bye, no doubt spurred by the prospect of being near him. You rush to your car and head there as quickly as possible.

\------------------------------

As you pull up to Hank’s house, you wonder if you should give Connor a ring to let him know you’re here. Before you can, almost as if he knows you’re nearby, your phone flashes with a text from Hank’s number.

‘The door is unlocked.’

You jog up to the entrance and sure enough the door swings open when you push it.

As you walk into the house the stench of alcohol stings your nose. You spot Sumo in his basket, tail wagging in recognition when you kneel to give him a pat.

Standing back up you head further in as you hear running water and shouting. Your eyes taking in the smashed glass and the gun on the kitchen floor.

_He did mention he had to break a window to get in._

You turn the corner just as Connor is pulling Hank out of the bathroom. He’s as handsome as always, hair curling around his forehead from his foray in the bathroom. Hank on the other hand is sopping wet and groaning as the android supports his weight.

Your eyes can’t help but sneak a glance at the numbers on his jacket, as if to remind yourself that it’s really still there.

Shaking your head slightly to snap out of it, you run over and grab Hank’s other arm. “…’re you doing here?” He slurs out and squints at you before turning to glare at Connor. “Why’d you call more people…’m not running a bloody hotel service here!”

“Good to see you too Hank.”

You frown in concern at how he reeks of whiskey. Your eyes meeting Connor’s honey-coloured ones as you both support Hank to the bedroom in front.

Your heart doesn’t fail to beat just that bit faster at his naturally intense stare. Coupled with his slightly dishevelled appearance, you find him devastatingly attractive. 

In perfect sync the two of you manage to manoeuvre Hank into his bedroom and onto the bed.

There’s warmth as he moves to stand next to you and it’s distracting as you fumble with the duvet you’re pulling over Hank. You’re not sure why Cyber Life would even bother putting in that feature, but it flusters you either way.

You clear your throat awkwardly as soon as you’re both back out in the hallway, the older man snoring in his bedroom the only other sound.

 “Why did you come to Hank’s house by the way?” You look up at him, eyes taking in as much of him as possible.

“There was a murder potentially involving a deviant and I needed him to attend the crime scene.”

As if he knows he’s being talked about, Hank groans from the bedroom and mumbles incoherently.

“I don’t think he’s going to be able to get up any time soon.” You give another once over to the snoring man and decide to close the door. “He’s in no state to help you right now. Where’s the crime scene?”

Connor frowns in an adorably pouty way at your words. You kind of want to hit yourself for your weird soppy thoughts.

“Eden’s Club.”

He follows you like a puppy as you head to the kitchen to clean up the mess, your wrist a distracting pulse at how near he is.

His look turns contemplative as he watches you clear up the glass.

“I guess I’ll have to go on my own.” His expression softens as he looks at you. “Thank you for your help detective. I’m sorry if I interrupted your evening.”

You give him a smile at his words. Heart rate picking up at his kind expression.

“I can’t let you go on your own, they would never let you in.” After brushing away the glass and placing the gun in a safer place you pull out your phone and shoot a text to Wilson explaining the situation.

Hopefully he would come over to ensure Hank would be fine throughout the night. You thank the stars above for having been assigned such a great partner.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure they would understand that I am acting on behalf of Detective Anderson-“

“You saved my life yesterday, so let me make it up to you.”  You interrupt him as you pick up Hank’s patrol car keys from the kitchen table. Feeling bold you grab his hand and begin pulling him out the door.

“I’ll even drive.”

There’s a pause where you wonder if you’ve made it weird by suddenly taking his hand, but he lets you drag him outside.

His hand is warm which surprises you as you didn’t think they would bother with a feature like that. Your mark tingling pleasantly at the contact. You wonder if he’s feeling the same sensations or if its only you.

“Very well Detective, I look forward to our temporary partnership.”

He gives your hand a squeeze at his words and your heart flutters happily. Your face is a bit pink as you give his hand a squeeze back and even though you have your back to him you could almost swear he’s smiling at you.

\--------------------------------

You’re both buckling up in Hank’s car when you speak again, you mark still tingling from the brief hand holding.

You turn to Connor and can’t resist putting a hand on his shoulder.

Your mark warms at the contact as he turns to give you a questioning look.

“I’m glad you called me to help. Even if it was by pure coincidence.”

For a moment you swear you see his led flashes yellow, but you’re distracted when he leans into your touch as his eyes look intently into yours.  

“I…lied to you earlier.”

You’re surprised at the falter in his sentence. His face seems a little bluer than normal as he continues to look at you.

“It wasn’t by chance that I chose to call you. It was because- “He pauses and averts his gaze for a second before looking at you with piercing eyes. His body continues leaning closer to yours, seemingly unconsciously though, half of him practically over the handbrake. “-my software suggested you.”

Your heart is beating so fast you’re worried he can hear it.

“…what do you mean?”

There’s a confused frown on his face and he wavers at your question. Your wrist throbs underneath your watch in anticipation for his response and you resist the urge to just pull him closer.

“I’m not sure how to explain it. You,” He’s moving even nearer to you as he speaks, his voice going lower as his led flashes between yellow and red. “…confuse me. I keep checking for errors and yet…”

“…yet?” Your voice is lowered to a whisper, as if raising your voice would break the moment as you move closer as well.

He doesn’t reply and instead stares with such intensity it makes you rub your thighs together as you feel arousal throb through you.

You find yourself leaning forward, eyes sliding down to his mouth. His lips look soft and supple and you wonder what it would feel like to kiss him.

There’s this moment where you feel as if you’re both about to do something profound, your eyes falling shut as the air feels electric.

You can feel his breath on your lips, just a little bit closer, when suddenly you’re both startled as your phone pings.

He pulls away immediately at the noise. You catch a glimpse of heated eyes staring at your lips before he turns away.

You can see the tips of his ears are bluer than normal, but other than that he seems unaffected from the almost kiss earlier.

“I think it’s best we get there as soon as possible.”

His voice is still the same pleasant tenor it’s always been, but it sounds stiff compared to the intimately low timbre from earlier.

“S-sure thing.”

You clear your throat as you stumble over your words, heart beating uncomfortably fast in your chest.

Disappointingly, he doesn’t say add anything else to your comment, gaze focused in front.

When you sneak a glance at him as you drive, you find his led disappointingly blue in the window’s reflection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for all the kudos and comments!  
> Sorry this took longer than usual; I wanted more soul mark development, but I forgot to really set it up in the last 2 chapters (smh) but I’m glad I’ve managed to get it out. (I’ll go back and revise the other chapters another time to transition a bit better!)
> 
> I hope you guys all enjoyed at least. Please look forward to your hijinks with Connor at the club next chapter :D


	4. Chapter 4

It’s only as you step out of the car that you realise you’re at an android sex club. Hard to miss the bright purple screens proclaiming it has the “sexiest androids in town”.

You remain as collected as you can. Although you still find yourself staring as you enter the establishment, flustered at all the naked flesh on display. As you go through the door way your gaze is drawn to a male android dancing on a pole and giving you flirtatious looks.

You’re a grown woman but it’s still distracting to see an attractive body being flaunted, especially since it makes you wonder what Connor would look like up there instead.

As your face blushes from your perverted thoughts, said android suddenly appears at your side. There’s an expression you’ve not seen before on his face. He walks right in front of your line of vision, effectively blocking out the gyrating android from view.

“I believe we should speak with the detective on site first?”

He’s politely indicating towards two men chatting, a hand held out to let you go first.

Recovering as smoothly as you can, you give a small nod and make your way over. (And if your face is a little red you hope he doesn’t notice.)

You’re a little bit confused though when his expression turns to a happier one as you move away.

When you near the two men, you cough politely to get their attention. It’s not surprising to see that it’s Ben Collins as he turns around, although you can tell he’s surprised to see you.

“What are you doing here?” He gives you a friendly clasp on the back as a greeting. “Thought you were working on the red ice cases?” 

“Day off so I’m filling in for Hank-“You pause to think of a kind way of explaining his absence. “-he’s a bit indisposed at the moment.”

Ben lets out a heavy sigh at your words. He doesn’t say anything else, but you can tell he knows exactly what has happened.

“Well, it’s all in that room in there. Gavin’s in there too.”

The older detective gives a long exhale and shakes his head. “I’ll leave you both to it, gotta go sort out the perimeter.”

Thanking Ben, you both go into the room that he indicated, a sense of dread filling you at the thought of dealing with Reed.

As soon as you enter you’re greeted by said man. His lips are curled into a nasty sneer as he speaks.

“The plastic pet and his owner, what the fuck are you two doin’ here?”

“I’ve been assigned to all cases involving androids.”

Connor steps slightly in front of you, almost protectively. His voice is civil, but there’s an edge there that you can’t help but notice.

Reed scoffs at his words before turning to you. Just behind him is Tina, she mouths a ‘sorry’ but doesn’t do anything else.

“What the hell are you doing here then? Aren’t you on the fucking red ice team?”

You scowl at his aggressive tone.

“Just helping the Lieutenant out.”

Reed’s look turns knowing at your words. 

“Did Anderson get smashed again?”

You choose to ignore him and busy yourself with examining the area. There’s a pause where you think that he’s finally got the hint to go, but of course he doesn’t.

“Here’s some advice for you two, you’re wasting your time here. It’s just some pervert who got more action than he could handle.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

Your words are brusque, and he looks a little bit taken aback at your unfriendly tone. He doesn’t stay silent for long though and a nasty smirk forms on Reed’s face as he looks between you and Connor.

“Always so friendly with the damn plastics,aren’t you? I bet this place is right up your alley.”

Your face instinctively flushes in embarrassment at his mockery, especially considering who you’re with. Reed’s smirk only grows bigger when he notices your discomfort.

“C’mon let’s go, wouldn’t want to see what kinky stuff these two get up to in here.”

He gives you both a lewd gesture as he knocks into Connor on his way out. Tina giving both of you an apologetic look before she follows Reed.

You sigh once they’re gone and turn to face Connor.

“Sorry he’s such a dick.”

“It’s not your fault. I appreciate you coming with me despite everything.”

His words are heartfelt, and you find the bad mood going as you share a smile with him.

You both continue to look around the room, you turn to ask Connor if he's found anything.

Your words don't come out as you catch Connor licking blue blood from his slender fingers. You really should feel appalled as he licks the foreign substance, but all it makes you feel is a flash of arousal as your mind replays his tongue flicking out sensuously.

Your heart is throbbing in time with your mark as your thoughts go straight back to the almost kiss earlier and how close you were to seeing what his tongue could do. 

There’s also a glimpse of pale wrist as his jacket slides down ever so slightly. It’s not enough to see if he has a mark though and you force your gaze away from him.

There isn’t much else you can find out in the room without aforensics kit and Connor seems to be handling things well enough, so you make up your mind to go talk to the owner. You're sure he'll let you know if he finds anything important.

“I’m going to go check in with the owner to see what he knows.”

Your words are met with a noise of acknowledgement, but he doesn’t look away from where he’s still observing the android’s body. 

You head back out and once you find the owner, you begin questioning him. The owner is a timid man, and considering he owns an android sex club, a little bit boring.

You’re ready to go back in to the room once it becomes clear he doesn’t know a thing when Connor suddenly bursts out of the room. His eyes scans the area frantically.

“What did you find?”

He hurries over to you, hands reaching out to grip your shoulders in his enthusiasm.

“There was another android in the room-“His eyes is still searching the area avidly,his hands a distracting warmth on you.

“They can’t go outside dressed like they do so it should still be here…” He gives you a triumphant grin as he as he trails off. Letting go of you, he rushes over to one of the Traci’s in a case.

You’re amused by how excited he is at his lead and turn back to reassure the owner about the situation. You’re still trying to calm the man down when there’s a call of your name.

Connor motions for you to come over.

“Please would you unlock this Traci for me?”

You frown in confusion and he takes your hand in his. He’s been much more tactile since the car and it’s throwing you off balance.

“Trust me.” Your chest tightens at his imploring eyes and you nod before placing your hand on the scanner.

The Traci is unlocked, and she looks at you salaciously.

“Delighted to meet you, follow me I’ll take you to your room.” Without warning Connor grabs her forearm, determination on his face.

You watch as his fingers dissolve into white where it touches her. You’ve read about androids being able to share memories, but this is your first time seeing it happen.

The moment is over too soon for you to observe much else as he whirls around to you, eagerness written all over his expression.There’s an endearing smile on his face as he explains what he’s seen.

“It saw something, the deviant left the room, a blue haired Traci.” He turns around, to eye the various exits.

“Club policy is to wipe the androids’ memory every two hours, we only have a few minutes if we want to find the witness.”

It’s all a bit of a blur after that as Connor dashes to different Traci’s as you follow him for a change. You’re a little bit concerned at how much this is going to cost as you mutter to yourself.

“Hank is going to kill me when he sees the expense form.”

After a couple of minutes of watching him probe memories of various Traci’s, he comes to a standstill when he can’t find the next one to complete the puzzle.

“It didn’t see anything. I made a mistake somewhere…” His voice is frustrated. Seconds tick by as you look around to see if you can be of any help.

You’re also growing worried as your time limit grows shorter when you notice a cleaning android mopping the floor nearby.

“..must have missed something.” He’s still murmuring to himself when you speak.

“What about him? He might have seen something if he was cleaning around here.”

Connor looks at the android you pointed out and goes over, his hands firm as he grasps the other androids forearm.

You’re still mesmerised by the white steel that appears every time he does this so you’re a little bit startled when he comes right back to you, grabbing your hands eagerly.

“You were correct! He saw the Traci go through the staff door.”

He gives your hands a squeeze, his led flashing yellow as he does.There’s a fond expression on his face, but it twists into a conflicted one before you get a chance to savour it as he drops your hands as if burned.

“We need to hurry, follow me detective.” He’s awkward as he opens the staff door, eyes looking anywhere but yours.You follow him, ignoring the way your mark itches from the interaction.

When you see the door at the end you tug at his jacket.

“Wait, it’s better if I go first as I’ve got a weapon.” He seems hesitant at your words but relents when he sees that you won’t back down.

Once the door is open, a variety of Traci androids greet your eyes as you make your further into a warehouse.

It’s eerily quiet in there whilst you look around for any signs of a blue-haired Traci.

Connor moves away from you to search a different area, you choose to investigate behind some plastic curtains.

However, you’re not there long when a loud crash sounds and you turn to see Connor being attacked by a short haired Traci. Instinctively you aim your gun, hoping for a clear shot when you’re suddenly jumped and spun around.

There’s just enough time to brace your hands in front of you as the Traci you were looking for tries to smash a metal spanner into your face.

You hear a nasty crack as she manages to smash the wrench into your watch.You don’t get a chance to dwell on this as she kicks you. You lose grip of your gun and scramble to go pick it up, your left wrist and mark throbbing in protest when you grasp it.

It’s a whirlwind of action as you both do your best to deal with the Traci’s individual attacks. You finally manage to knock the blue-haired one down for a moment and immediately stumble over to help Connor.  

Yet, you don’t get far as you’re shoved into a table, your gun clattering outside to an alley way.You catch sight of Connor falling outside as well.

There isn’t much time do anything though as you’re thrown outside as well by the Traci you’re meant to be handling.

As you lift your head up, cold rain chilling your skin, your heart skips a beat when you see Connor being knocked down hard.

His name comes out of your mouth involuntarily as your heart hammers rapidly. Combined with the pounding of your head, you almost feel like throwing up. 

Thankfully you see him sit up, fumbling with something on the ground as you painfully try to get closer despite the dizziness.

You stop though when you see him lift your gun up as the short haired Traci is charging towards him.

You’re waiting for the shot but there’s only a thump as he lets her kick him. Nausea and confusion stopping you from going to him as he falls backwards.

The blue haired Traci begins explaining what happened when she sees you’re both pretty much immobile.

“I just wanted to stay alive. To get back to the one I love.” You watch them hold hands, looking in defiance at Connor. Your heart can’t help but feel for them when you see how tightly their hands are clasped.

Connor doesn’t respond as he watches them escape. He looks fragile as he slowly gets up from the ground.

As they fade into the distance, he turns to you. There’s a lost look on his face and his led keeps cycling between red and yellow.

You go over to him and give him a gentle pat on the shoulder, a soft countenance on your face as you look up at him.

“It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

You take your gun from his hands, only to wince at the pain from your wrist when you try to holster it. Your wrist is aching horribly from where your watch got shattered and as soon as your gun is holstered you take it off.

Thankfully nothings embedded into your skin and the numbers of your soul mark is still there, clear as day. It’s even a bit darker than the last time you checked.

You’re about to put your wrist back down and focus on Connor again when you see that he’s staring straight at you.

“Why do you have my serial number on your wrist?”

On instinct you move your wrist back down but before you can his hand shoots out to grab it. His eyes are locked onto the numbers there.

“I’ve heard of humans having things called soul marks. An identifier for someone that’s meant to be your perfect romantic partner.”

You give a weak laugh, trembling partly from the rain and partly from the entire situation. You’re not sure if you’re ready to talk about this. You can barely deal with how clinical he sounds describing soulmates.

He doesn’t let you pull away though as his grip tightens.

“Is this your soul mark?”

Heart beating furiously, you shake your head. “It’s just a stupid tattoo.”

You can’t help but avoid looking at his eyes as the words leave your mouth, the lie is obvious even as you say it.

He stays silent though and you flinch in surprise when his other hand touches your face. It pushes you gently until you’re looking up at him. There’s a confused frown on his handsome face, the rain slicking down his hair.

Your wrist is throbbing hotly from his grip or your mark, you can’t even tell anymore.

You’re staring up at him, his led a solid red in the corner of your vision. There’s a strange desperate ache to be closer as your hand reaches up to clutch at his jacket sleeve.

He doesn’t say anything, but you see his eyes drop to your lips. It feels inevitable as you both close the gap and your lips meet.

Your heart is thudding in your chest at the soft brush of his lips against yours. It’s just a chaste kiss but you can feel a slight tremor in his hands as he brings them up to cup your face. Your eyes close as he pulls you near enough that your chests are brushing.

Everything else is forgotten as you lose yourself in this quiet moment.

Just you and Connor in the alleyway with the rain as your soundtrack. It’s not earth-shattering or breath stopping, it’s just gentle kisses over and over as your mind begins to feel dizzy from the honey sweet caress of his lips.

You’re breathing heavier when you part, but it doesn’t feel like it’s enough at all.There’s a desperation that gnaws at you to kiss him again and you wonder if he feels the same.

His face is tinged a little bluer than it was earlier, and his eyes are still closed. His led seems to have settled onto yellow but as he opens his eyes to stare at you, it flashes red.

You feel his hands move away and you can’t bear the thought of not being physically touching right now so you grab them. Although his expression turns uncertain at your touch he clutches at your fingers tightly.

Blinking away the rain, you take a moment to stare at his led as it flickers red and yellow before speaking.

“I think you’re my soulmate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found this a hard chapter to write and edit as I didn’t want to end up with the exact same scene as the game. (I was also super distracted by the world cup orz) I hope you enjoyed what it ended up as!
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and comments :)


	5. Chapter 5

There’s a serious expression on his face as he processes what you just said. Your gaze can’t help but be drawn to his ever changing led, the only insight you have into his mind. It’s flashing a distracting red and you’re worried about what this means.

After what feels like an age, your patience hanging by a thread, his mouth finally opens to say something. Frustratingly though, no words leave his mouth as he suddenly lets go of your hand and reaches up to his temple instead.

He holds up a hand to stop you before you can talk. His face is deep in concentration as he seems to be able to hear something you can’t. Annoyingly you can only stand in silence as you wait for him to focus back on you. 

To add to the growing frustration, now that the warmth of his hands are gone, you can’t help but shiver from your wet clothes. Your brain also choosing now to remind you of the pain from your wrist.

Just as you’re about to suggest moving back inside, ready to ignore his urge for you to be silent, you feel something warm on your shoulders as Connor wraps his jacket around you.

The scent of rain and leather surrounds you and you find yourself enamoured by the smell that’s uniquely his.

“Thank you. You know we could just go back inside?” Your tone is hesitant despite what a good idea that is.

(There’s a bigger part of you that wants to stay outside in this strange space where it feels like time has paused.)

He doesn’t react to your words, eyes always watching you. “I believe we’re being summoned by our partners.”

You look up at him quizzically but he only pulls his jacket tighter around you. His expression is tender whilst he does so, the words about being soulmates still echoing in your mind.

It’s hard to dwell on difficult topics when his eyes are such a lovely shade of chocolate brown and you melt a little bit as they stare into yours.

You know this is all part of the magnetic pull of soul marks, but it’s hard fighting something that makes you feel so complete. 

You snap out of your poetic musings. It was probably the tiredness and cold finally catching up to you.

“I really think we should talk before-”

“We will. However I think you may want to check your phone first.”

“But-”

You’re interrupted as you realise your phone is now vibrating insistently. Connor looks at you knowingly even as he crowds closer to you, as if he knows you’re still cold despite his jacket. He exudes heat, much like a radiator would.

Disappointingly, he doesn’t reach out to touch you.

Looking at your phone you, you’re shocked when you see the large amount of missed calls and texts from Wilson. There’s even a few from Hank checking in after waking up. You realise you must have put it on silent when you had gotten into the club to keep from getting distracted.

(You have your suspicions that Connor has a hand in turning it off silent with how strongly it’s vibrating now.)

From the quick glance through the texts from your partner, it looks like there’s been development from your red-ice case and you’re needed as soon as possible. You text Wilson to say you’re on your way back to the precinct.

In the corner of your eyes you can see Connor messaging on a phone as well. After he finishes, he looks at you apologetically as he explains how Hank wants to meet him at a bridge to discuss something. Frowning at this turn of events you force yourself to walk back into the club with Connor instead of demanding a discussion now.

To the owners credit, he doesn’t say anything at the lack of androids with you or the jacket you’re now wearing. He just nods in disappointment when you tell him they escaped. You feel a little bit bad about twisting the story to cover up how Connor had let them go, but it’s for the best.

You didn’t want to know what would happen to him if people found out he had willingly let two deviants escape.

You tell the owner to go home for the night as the club will need to be cordoned off until the forensics team arrive later. The guy doesn’t take long to grab his stuff and after getting reassurance from you that the police will be in contact, he leaves.

Thankfully the rain has stopped by now and you both wander out to the entrance of the club. The sex androids watching all of you was a little bit unnerving. You both sit on the kerb just outside the entrance and Connor tells you he’s ordered a taxi for himself as you should take Hank’s car.  

“Okay, I’ll wait with you until it arrives.” 

He looks concerned at your decision, probably due to your slight shivering from the cold but he doesn’t tell you to go. Instead he slides closer, the heat he emits chasing away most of the chill.

There’s a comfortable silence as you sit side by side and this makes you hesitant to push the topic of soul marks. Especially since he’s not even acknowledged it at all since you mentioned it.

Whilst you’re thinking on how to bring soul marks up, your left hand finds its way into his. His fingers move up to stroke your mark, almost as if he’s drawn to it. It tingles pleasantly at his touch and you find yourself leaning into him as he continues to caress your wrist absentmindedly.

You’re beginning to feel a little dazed from his direct touch and pull your hand from his reluctantly. “S-sorry, it just feels…” There’s a blush growing on your face as you try to put into words the sensation it causes.

In most of the books you had read it had been romanticised to being a way to touch the soul. It had a strange effect on soul mark pairs and depending on the emotions of the pair it could even influence feelings to an extent.

This would certainly explain the drowsy, comforting sensations, no doubt caused by protective feelings. If you were being influenced then it gave you hope that he had to have a mark too.

Connor continues to look intrigued as he stares intently at your wrist. His serial number as clear as day in a rich burgundy.

“…I know. I can feel something strange happening to my processing when I touch it.”

His voice is low and you shiver at the husky tone. You can only blink as your brain tries to process what he said.

“Do you have a mark too then?”

He doesn’t respond to your question and instead brings your wrist back to him. There’s fascination written all over his face. It’s hard to explain the sensations running through you as he continues to touch your mark. You liken it to sitting in front of a cosy fireplace as you’re enveloped by a dreamy sensation.

The gentle tingling pleasure intensifies as his brushes gets a bit firmer across the numbers. It’s almost as if he’s trying to see if the mark can be rubbed off, if it was truly permanently etched into your wrist.

As you lose yourself to the contentedness you’re feeling, the pain from before a distant memory, you wonder what it would feel like if he where to put his lips to the mark. In your hazy mindset you open your mouth to ask him to do just that, thankfully before you can, Connor lets up on the touches and cradles your wrist instead.

“How is this happening?”

You still feel half-drunk on the endorphins the mark is sending to your brain as you pull your wrist out of his grasp. His question helps snap you out of it. It feels a little bit colder without his reverent stroking and you blink a few times to clear your head from the mark-induced haze. 

You’re still feeling warm and pliant, brain still a little dazed from his touch.

“W-what can you feel when you touch it?” You’re feeling too relaxed to even feel embarrassed at the stumble in your sentence.

“It feels...” He’s staring at your wrist as he trails off, like he’s itching to touch it gain.

“It must mean you have a mark if you can feel something too right?”

You’re hopeful as you speak, excited to know it’s affecting him. He only frowns at your words though. However, there isn’t a chance to discuss further when the taxi chooses then to pull up right beside you both.

“I-” Connor stands up, a conflicted expression back on his face as his led rapidly flashes yellow-red. “-need to go. I’ll see you later detective.” 

He’s once again able to get away without answering your question, and you can’t help but feel worried at his avoidance. His led is back to an infuriating blue as he opens the door. You rush to stand up and as he’s about to get into the car, you can’t resist pulling him down for a soft kiss.

Mostly to remind him of the sensations that must be happening to him as well despite his non-human nature.

It’s more of hard press of lips initially but his lips are soft as it yields to yours. It melts into a more heated kiss when his hand moves to pull you closer to deepen it.

There’s the tease of his tongue on your lips and you open your mouth automatically. His fingers seek out your left wrist as if he can’t help it  and he wraps them around your mark, a heavy pressure that adds an enticing layer to the kiss.

There’s a deliciously low moan when you thread your hands into the hair at the back of his neck, fingers gently tugging at the short strands there. You’re surprised that triggers a response from him considering he’s not human. Connor draws back abruptly, and he looks incredibly flustered as he blinks down at you, face tinged blue.

 “I-I’m sorry about that.” He’s adorably embarrassed at the sound he just made and you find yourself wanting more. His face is a blend of confused awkwardness that makes you want to kiss him again until it’s lax in pleasure.

Before you can pull him back in, he’s turned around to face the car. Face hidden to hide his sudden shyness.

(In the back of your mind you thank Cyber Life for creating automated cars and no one got to see your kiss with him.)

“I need to go see Hank, he’s been trying to ring me again.”

Despite his words he hesitates at the door, half inside the car as he looks back at you. You give him a smile as you reach to brush your hand against his resting on the car door.

“Will you at least come to my apartment when you’re done? I’ll text you the address.”

He nods at you, lips pulled into a small grin at your touch, and closes the door to the taxi. You watch it fade into the distance before going to Hank’s car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the later than usual update, work and life is getting busy again so it’ll be a bit longer between chapters ^^;
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for all the kudos and comments as usual!


	6. Chapter 6

Your elation is short lived as you don’t even get a glimpse of him in the next few days.

This comes as no surprise when a deviant android message is broadcast the day after your interlude at the club and you know this means Connor will be busier than ever with his investigation.

Although you do get a single text from him, an apology and a promise to be in touch as soon as he was free. To distract yourself you throw yourself back into your red-ice case.

Thankfully, there’s plenty of reports to type and evidence to sift throught to keep you distracted.

After a gruelling string of all-nighters, Wilson had demanded you go home for the night after you had nearly fallen asleep making coffee. Despite your protests, he physically dragged you into a taxi to make sure you left the precinct. It had dropped you off a moment ago and you’re currently making the short walk up to your apartment floor.

As you climb the stairs, you fiddle with your phone, hesitating over whether to bother Connor. You had wanted to talk to Wilson about this since he was your closest friend that you trusted with something so delicate. However work had come first the moment you got back and a chance never came up.

Unfortunately, now that you were forced home, this left you free to overthink. It hadn’t even been a week since you had last seen him but the urge to know how he was, was coming back in full force without the diversion of work.

Letting out an irritated sigh, you shove your phone back in your pocket. You didn’t want to disturb him during his investigation, not over something that could wait.

Trying to control your growing irritation and tiredness, you finally reach the last few steps towards your apartment. You’re pulling out your keys when you notice a familiar mop of brown hair standing outside.

“Connor.”

His name leaves your mouth practically at the same time your name leaves his. You hurry over to him only to stop when you see how wet he is.

“I’m sorry to bother you without checking if it was fine first but-” The android avoids your questioning gaze as he talks, expression closed off. “-please can we talk?”

You nod and, trying to be subtle, you give him a once over as you walk past him to open the door. There aren’t any obvious injuries, only wet clothes and somber eyes.

He stands follows you into your hallway as you hang up your jacket and bag. He’s dripping slightly and you can only imagine how long he’s been outside before coming to your apartment.

Once your hands are free, you motion him to your sofa and sit him down. He lets you get him out of his jacket, body pliant. When you come back after grabbing a towel he hasn’t moved at all. He seems to be stuck in his own thoughts but at least his led is blue, which you can only hope means his condition isn’t too bad.

You’re still concerned though as you try your best to dry him off with the towel. Sitting next to him you ruffle his hair for a bit before dropping it around his neck. You know he won’t catch a cold but seeing him so helpless makes you want to do something.

With his hair all mussed and the sad expression, it’s hard to see how anyone could see him as just an unfeeling robot.

The only sound is the ticking of your clock as you wait patiently for him to talk first. You’re unsure if your touch would be welcome with how closed off he’s being. You can only hope you being with him is as much a comfort for him like it is for you when he’s nearby.

After some time you feel his fingers go to your wrist, brushing against your covered mark like he always does, like it stabilises him.

“We met Kamski.”

He voice is quiet, almost like he didn’t want you to actually hear them. You recognise the name. The inventor of androids and former CEO of Cyber Life. You pause as you wait to see if he’ll continue but he doesn’t, gaze still not meeting yours.

“Was it for your case?”

His led starts flashing yellow-blue as he nods.

“...to give us a lead on the deviants.”

You try to give him a searching look. He doesn’t seem to want to meet your eyes, instead focusing on the coffee table. He doesn’t move away from you though and his hand is still on your marked wrist, fingers just on top of your sleeve.

Eventually, he begins to explain what happened. Your heart aching for him as he tells you about the ‘Kamski Test’ and the android he couldn’t shoot as he struggled with how to handle the situation.

“I couldn’t shoot her. I couldn’t accomplish the mission.” His voice wavers as he finally meets your eyes. He looks so human despite the led now flashing red-yellow on his temple.

“He said I was deviant, that I showed empathy.”

Honey brown eyes look pleadingly at you for a solution. You aren’t sure what to say as you look back at him. Your brain jumps to the first thing that you can think of and it comes out in a rush.

“Maybe the empathy has something to do with soul marks? I mean with what happend at the club and what my mark is-”

You’re cut short when he pulls away from you. There’s frustration marring his handsome face as he starts rolling up his sleeves, hands quick and efficient.

“I don’t have a mark.”

Your throat feel dry as you stare at his unmarred wrists. From everything you had read, almost all soul marks were meant to be in the same place and Connor’s lack of one was like a sucker punch.

“...I see.” Your voice sounds weak even to your ears as you gently grab his outstretched hands. You trace his bare wrists, confused at the faint tingling in your mark when he hasn’t got a matching one.

Connor continues, staring at your wrist. “And yet, every time we touch I feel so...so much more.”

He twists his hands so they grab yours, fingers pushing up your left sleeve so his serial number is on display. He seems obsessed with touching your mark ever since he saw it and runs his fingers gently over them.

“...you become the only priority and all my other commands become secondary.”

Words can’t come out as you try to process what he just said. You don’t get to dwell long though as he meets your eyes, a look full of sad longing that you feel your heart break. He’s so clearly lost, confused. Logic failing him as he looks imploringly at you.

“Is this deviancy?” His broken whisper causes your heart to squeeze painfully in empathy.

“I don’t know.” You can’t lie to him when he’s looking at you like you have all the answers.

All you can do is bring him closer into a hug. He seems to find comfort in that as he wraps his hands around you and you just hold him tight.

Right now it didn’t matter if he had a mark or not, the most important thing was that there was clearly something tying you both together. You couldn’t give up just because you couldn’t see a physical mark.

There are no words as you take comfort in each other. You aren’t sure how much time passes but eventually you can feel your fatigue finally catch up with you as your eyes keep closing.

Before you can nod off you manage to draw on what energy you have left and pull away.

Giving him what you hope is a reassuring smile, you pull Connor up with you. There’s an adorable look of confusion on his face even as he lets you guide him to your bedroom.

You’re too tired to care about your clothes and you climb into the bed immediately. Connor hovers awkwardly, gaze wary yet fond as he watches you settle in. It’s not until you realise he hasn’t climbed in as well that you motion for him to join you.

“Androids don’t need to sleep.”

“Then...please could you stay with me until I fall asleep at least?”

He hesitates, blue seeping into his ears as he finally succumbs to your beckoning. He’s soon lying facing you and you can feel his honey gold eyes observing your face.

Despite his intense stare, you’re about to fall asleep when you feel his hand brush over your face.

“Connor?”

Your voice is quiet as you let him tilt your face up towards his. His touch is reverent and it feels nice as his fingers traces your features slowly. He doesn’t respond to you, instead his fingers linger on your lips.  

He shuffles closer and you’re pleasantly surprised when you feel his mouth brush yours in a chaste kiss. One soon becomes another and there’s an ease that comes with each sleepy kiss.

His plush mouth eventually trails to your neck, soft brown hair tickling you as he moves until he’s practically on top of you. One of his hands sneaks around to your marked wrist, pulling it up to rest beside your head, the other one pulling you into place by the waist.

You shiver when feel his teeth teasingly bite your neck. You half heartedly try to pull your left wrist from his stroking, the pleasurable tingling coming from your mark almost too much.

He suddenly comes to a stop and pulls away from you. When he’s lying down next to you again your eyes can’t help but linger on his tongue as he licks his lips.

“Sorry, I just-my system just wanted me to…” He trails off and averts his gaze from yours, his led is flickering again but you’re too flustered to do anything else.

You decide not to respond just yet. Instead you lean into him, drawn in by the warmth he generates.

Your heart is beating a little too fast to sleep at the moment, you still feel exhausted. You wrap your arms around him as best you can, deciding to just savour this moment.

Mind made up, you decide everything can wait till the morning.

“When I’m with you, you become my main priority too.” Your words are loud in the stillness of your room and you can feel him stiffen in your arms.

He doesn’t say anything for a long time. His arms eventually curl around you and you take that as his response.

It’s when you’re practically asleep that you hear him speak. But your eyes are so tired and his voice is such a lullingly low tenor that you can only make out a few words.

“I li...have...ark.”

You can only briefly wonder about what he said before finally succumbing to sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had parts of it written ages ago but trying to get them to fit together was hard. ^^;
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments, it’s lovely to see people enjoying the story!


	7. Chapter 7

You wake up to an empty bed. 

However, your mark is pleasantly tingling which makes you think Connor was touching it only recently. He must have only just left.

You spare a moment to wonder why he didn’t wake you up before he left when you catch sight of your mark.

It’s the darkest you’ve ever seen it and you run your fingers over the numbers. You think it means the bond is progressing well if your skim reading on the subject is reliable. 

(Although Connor’s lack of a mark wasn’t in any of the books you’d read.)

You dispel the negative thoughts and trace the tattoo like marking in a daze. You can understand how Connor keeps wanting to touch it.

If he had a mark you would want to touch it all the time too.

Inadvertently, the fond expressions he sometimes gets on his face when he sees your mark flashes in your mind as you stare at his serial number. It makes you feel all warm inside and you immediately bury your face in your pillow as you flush from your thoughts.

Once you feel less like a flustered mess, you sit up. As you stretch out the kinks you look at your clock. Only to almost fall on your face when you realise you’re going to be late for the morning briefings if you didn’t haul ass.

Thankfully you manage to get dressed and on the road in record time.

Despite the hectic morning you find yourself energetic as you walk into the precinct, excitement thrumming through you at the thought of getting to see him. Your mind is still giddy with the revelations of last night and the soft gentle kisses still tingling along your lips.

Maybe you could ask him about what he said just as you drifted off, the whispered words were still a mystery to you and you feel bad for falling asleep on him. Pulling out your phone, you’re about to text him to meet you for lunch when you stumble into someone.

“There you are!”

It’s Wilson who steadies you as you stare up at him in confusion.

“I haven’t missed the morning briefings have I?”

“No, they’ve been cancelled. Didn’t you see the news about the androids freedom march?”

You can only gape at him, how did you miss something that big?

Before you can talk though Wilson leans closer to you and tugs at the collar of your blouse. He pauses and gives you a knowing look when he sees the small hickey on your neck.

“No wonder you didn’t hear about the rebellion. Were you with our friendly neighbourhood android?” Ignoring him, you fluster and pull your shirt collar higher up instead. Wilson just gives you a teasing grin before his expression turns serious again.

“Connor’s going to be deactivated. The FBI just took over the case and I saw Perkins coming up.”

“What?” The happiness you were feeling abruptly fades at his words. Wilson looks around before speaking again.

“Cyber Life is going to deactivate him due to lack of progress.” He nods towards the main area in the precinct. “I’d hurry in or you won’t be able to catch him. I’m trying to see if I can get more information to help him and Hank.”

Thanking your partner, you walk quickly, just managing to stop yourself from running into the main room. Wouldn’t want to draw attention to yourself if things were as tense as Wilson said.

You’re looking around the room for your android when you catch Hank’s gaze. Before you can say anything he nods towards the evidence room as he walks towards you. You look there and catch a glimpse of neon blue disappearing around the corner.

“15 minutes.”

His words confuse you before you realise he means how much time he can distract everyone for. Thanking Hank in your head, you run to catch up to Connor. As you do, you can hear the older man suddenly shouting at Perkins. It brings a grin to your face, especially when you hear what sounds like a punch being thrown.

As you jog around the corner, you almost collide into the android but he manages to catch you before you fall.

He says your name questioningly as warm brown eyes stare down at you. Reluctantly, you move away from him and instead head towards the evidence room.

“We need to hurry.”

He looks like he wants to say something but he just nods. His led can’t seem to stay blue as it flashes though and that’s telling all own it’s own.

He pauses after he unlocks the door, his back to you. You can only wonder what expression he’s making.

“Thank you.”

You don’t respond, but there’s a smile on your face as push him into the room gently.

When would he realise you’d follow him anywhere. 

**\-----**

You’re captivated as he goes through the different pieces of evidence. You do feel a little helpless as he doesn’t seem to need your help and you hover at the console. At least he seems to be getting somewhere with the clues. You’re particularly impressed when he manages to copy the deviant leader’s voice and convince the broken android to show him the location to Jericho.

It’s as fascinating as ever watching his hand dissolve into white steel to clasp onto the other androids forearm.

You wonder what it feels like compared to his synthetic skin, would it be cold? Could your mark be on there instead? You shake your head. Thoughts like that needed to stop.

_Connor wouldn’t have said he didn’t have a mark if that was the case._

You focus back on the situation as Connor seems to be taking in the information from the other android. You’re about to ask him if he got the location when you hear the familiar click of a gun’s safety going off.

“What do we have here? A plastic fake and his pet human?”

You stare right at Connor and try to signal to him to leave the room. Your hand goes towards your own gun before you turn around.

“We’re just reviewing some evidence for the deviancy case.” Reed raises an eyebrow at your words. When Connor doesn’t make any moves to go you try to subtly stand in front of him. You’re not sure how effective this is though as Reed’s eyes stay focused where they are.

“I don’t think so sweetheart. I hear the tin can is going to be deactivated and I happen to look forward to that.”

Frowning you move with him when he tries to get around the console. Reed’s disdain is almost palpable and he sneers at your attempts to block him. His gun is steady as he waves it as if to shoo you away.

“Move out of the way. I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”

Before you can respond, you feel Connor moving closer. His hand brushing against yours as he moves to stand next to you.

“Don’t do this, I know where the deviants are!”

Even before he finishes his sentence you know Reed isn’t going to listen. Before the other detective can say anything, you dive over the console and manage to tackle him to the ground. You hear Connor shout your name, worry threaded through his voice as he rushes to help you.

However you don’t have the upper hand as Reed is bigger than you and he manages to overpower you. He stands up and locks his forearm around your neck before pointing his gun at you as well.

“After your little stunt there, I think I’ll teach you a lesson. Let me show you how he’s just a piece of plastic without real emotions.”

His words give you a sinking feeling as he looks at you with a malicious grin.

“We’re going to give your android boyfriend a choice here. Give yourself up or I’ll have to hurt your precious girlfriend here.”

You roll our eyes at Reed’s dramatics. As if he had the balls to shoot another detective in the precinct.

“Please stop with the macho act. Ignore him Connor, I can handle him.” You try to squirm out of his grip as you talk but he’s got a nasty hold on your neck. Reed tightens his grip and you soon find yourself struggling to breath.

“I can always claim self defence. After all I’m trying to stop a deviant android and a sympathiser from sabotaging evidence!”

The all too familiar nasty grin is aimed solely at Connor as he doesn’t loosen his hold on you despite your squirming.

“Came..ameras…” You manage to gasp out in the hopes that he’ll ease up. Reed does but only for a second and the pressure is back.

“Self-defence remember? I’m not in the wrong sweetheart.”

 _Well shit._ You can make out Connor’s tall figure even though he’s rapidly becoming rather blurry as black dots flash in your vision. His led is like a beacon though as it flashes red-yellow far too quickly to be good.

You try to tell him to run for it. You know Reed isn’t above hurting you but  surely even he wouldn’t kill a fellow detective over something so petty. You know he wouldn’t hesitate to kill Connor though and you’d rather he was gone before Reed decided you weren’t worth using as leverage.

“What’s it going to be plastic freak?”

It feels like the longest pause in the world as Connor seems to physically struggle with what to do. It’s understandable, after all his commands were most likely to solve the deviancy case at any cost and the efficient route would be to leave you.

He’s standing just in front of both of you and his eyes seem far away even though he’s facing you. In fact, you could almost swear you can see him trying to tear down a wall of some sorts but you figure it’s probably the lack of air causing visions.

You can tell Reed thinks he’s won as you gives you a mocking look at Connor’s lack of response.

“I can’t let you hurt her.”

You aren’t sure if you imagine those words from Connor but just when you think you’re about to lose consciousness you’re let go as Reed stumbles backwards clutching his head as you see the idol relic fall onto the floor. A gunshot rings out, thankfully aimed upwards. Your coordination is shaky but you know you have to disarm him before he recovers. Turning around as quickly as possible you throw your weight on to the other man and punch him as hard as you can.

Thankfully you hear his gun clatter across the floor. You’re blinking rapidly as you try to make your limbs move faster to handcuff Reed when you feel Connor trying to pull you up.

“It’s okay, he’s unconscious.”

It would seem you had managed to knock him out at least. Maybe you weren’t completely useless in this situation.

You turn around to assess how your android is. However you’re startled when Connor suddenly pulls you into a hug, arms squeezing you tightly.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

You automatically hug him back and you burrow your head into his arms. You want to tell him the same thing or at least reassure him you’re okay but the words are stuck in your throat.

Questions about why he chose to help you over his mission run through your mind. Although more pressingly, as the adrenaline thrums through you, you mostly want to pull him down for a kiss. 

You can’t help but feel something is different about him. There’s a slight tremor in his arms as he holds you and he doesn’t seem to want to let go anytime soon.

(A quick glance at his led explains nothing though as it blinks a resolute blue.)

However, you know you don’t have time to waste on questions. It’s frustrating because it feels like every time you want to delve further into understanding your situation with Connor something more pressing is in the way.

You huff a sigh and add it to the list of things you want to talk about with him once this is over. So, with great reluctance you pull away from him and turn to the body on the floor. 

“I never thought I’d say these words, but lets tie Reed up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be up sooner than this one took as I went on holiday ^^; 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> (Also I’ve gotten back into kpop music and it is consuming me orz)


	8. Chapter 8

After tying Reed up, you coerce Connor into changing into a different outfit from the evidence locker. It was only a matter of time before they began looking for him and he needed to blend in better. Thankfully there’s some non-descript winter wear from a previous case you had worked on left behind in the evidence locker and you turn around to give Connor some privacy to change.

(You would’ve taken Reed’s clothes but he wasn’t the right size. Plus you weren’t cruel enough to subject the poor soul who eventually found him to an angry and naked Reed.)

“I’ve finished changing.”

You turn around far too quickly to be considered anything less than eager but you can’t help being excited to see him out of his uniform. It’s certainly worth the wait because Connor looks adorable bundled up in winter wear and you find yourself blushing as he gives you a quizzical look at your staring.

“Is something wrong?”

You shake your head. To distract him you move closer to him and adjust the beanie on his head. His eyes follow your movements, trying to figure out what you’re thinking, and you can still feel them watching you when you turn from him to hide how flustered you are.

“Right, now that you’re properly disguised, let’s get out of here.”

Sneaking out of the precinct is actually easier than you expected. It’s partially thanks to the uproar from the deviant rebellion but you like to think it’s also got something to do with your stealth skills. In fact, you manage to get out to the parking lot in the back without anyone noticing either of you.

Once you’re sure no one else is around, you check your phone to see if there was any alarms were raised since your altercation with Reed. You breathe a sigh of relief at the lack of notifications which hopefully means that no one has found Reed yet.

There’s a distinct lack of messages from Hank, so you can only assume the older man had been sent home after his ‘distraction’. You’d have to let him know you were both safe once you were on the road. Spotting your car you jog over to unlock it. Waving Connor over, you give him an relieved grin. “Where do we need to go?” You’re stopped from getting into the car as he places a hand on your shoulder.

“I have to go alone."

Your grin fades at his words and you feel like you’ve been doused with cold water.

“What? Why?”

He doesn’t say anything in response and you can only look up at his handsome face in frustration. When the silence stretches for too long you close the door you had open and focus on him. You have a sneaking suspicion as to why he wants to go alone but you don’t want to make assumptions.

“Where is Jericho?”

He looks hesitant to speak and his eyes look away from yours. You grab the hand on your shoulder and clasp it in both your hands. The touch is always nice and the tingling from your mark calms your thoughts.

“Please tell me.”

“The shipyards...” His voice trails off but he doesn’t move his hand. If anything he seems to find comfort in your touch. “I can’t let you come with me.”

His tone is final and there’s a tenseness to his expression that you’ve not seen before. His mouth is pulled into a tight line and there’s a defiant set to his jaw. It’s not the time to be thinking frivolous thoughts but you but it feels like his expressions are freer than you’ve ever seen them. You take a deep breath to clear your mind from what that means. You need to focus and noticing things like that isn’t going to help you right now.

“What do you plan to do once you get there?”

You can tell he’s surprised by your question, his expression goes soft for a split second before it goes back to the brooding countenance. He probably expected you to ask him why he wouldn’t let you go but you’re hoping you can push your way through his stubbornness.

“I’m going to speak with the leader of the android rebellion.” Nodding at his words, you let go of his hand and look him right in the eyes.

“Okay, great. I can watch your back-”

“You can’t.”

This is the most forceful you’ve ever seen him. His frustration is almost palpable as he looks at you. It’s like he doesn’t know how to convey what he’s feeling. Whilst you would like to smooth away the furrow on his face, your temper is steadily rising at his implication.

“Why not?” Frowning up at him you cross your arms.

“You could get hurt.” Despite the gentle way it’s said, his words still rankle you. You hope this isn’t some strange macho algorithm Cyberlife had put into his system where he thinks you can’t handle yourself. You hadn’t gone through the academy and field training for two years to be told you would be a liability.

“In case you needed reminding I went through academy training like everyone else did. I can handle myself-”

“You don’t _understand_.”

He walks closer to you, crowding you against your car door. He’s close enough that you can see the amber flecks in his eyes. Your heart is thudding rapidly and you’re surprised he doesn’t comment on it.

“Then explain it to me.” Your voice comes out in a whisper and the shiver that runs through you isn’t entirely due to the cold. You watch his face closely for his reaction. There’s a pause and you wonder if he’s just going to brush your question off but he comes closer, his hands coming up beside your head.

“I was _terrified_ of you being hurt. Earlier my processing was conflicted-” His eyes are boring into yours and you could almost swear the metal of your car dips slightly from the force of his hands. “-To complete my mission I should let you get hurt. The probability of it being a fatal shot was in a safe zone and yet at the same time I-” There’s a definite dent in your car as he seems to lose control of his strength. His words stall for a second as he composes himself. “-I _couldn’t_ let any harm come to you.”

Abruptly he pulls away and his hands curl into tight fists. Your gaze can’t help but be drawn to the hand indents on your car and you really should find that terrifying but all it does is make your heart beat faster.

“It’s not a matter of how capable you are. To let you get hurt isn’t even allowed to be a possibility.”

You wish you could see what colour his led is right now and you’re about to speak when you notice that he’s trembling. You’re not even sure how or why since he’s not human but you feel your mark suddenly burn as if in reaction to his distress.

“Please stay here where it’s safe.”

He steps back, eyes pleading for you to understand. With his new outfit, he looks just like any other human. The furrow of his eyebrows and the down curl of his lips betrays the depth of his concern. His led is well hidden underneath the knit hat and he just looks so _human_.  

How can you deny him when he’s looking at you like this?

“I _can’t_ let you be in danger.” He reaches out to you, closing in on you again, His fingers trailing over the mark on your left wrist delicately. His expression is so serious and it makes you so very worried that this could be the last time you see him.

“Connor please just-”  He interrupts you with a lingering, chaste kiss. It feels too much like a goodbye. However as you get lost in the kiss you hear something click and you realise with panic that he’s handcuffed your right hand to your door handle.

When he pulls back, he only gives you a resolved look before backing away. You’re pulling hopelessly against the handcuff but it doesn’t budge. He gives you one last lingering look before he goes and you can only watch him disappear into the distance.

\------------------------  

You don’t stay still for long. Once you can’t see him at all you go back to the handcuff.There’s got to be some way to get out it, he wouldn’t have just left you in the cold. Just as you’re seriously debating if breaking your wrist would help, a shout of your name causes you to look up. Your confused look matches the one that is on Hank’s face when he sees your situation.

“I got a text to go to the car park from your phone.” As he comes closer his look gets more perplexed.

“Why are you handcuffed to your car?”

Not waiting for a response, he moves to unlock you from your handcuffs. In your head you thank the police system for establishing the universal handcuff key.

“Connor did this. He’s gone on his own to Jericho.” Hank’s eyebrows go up to his hairline at your words.

“What the hell is he thinking! Why would he leave you here?” As you rub your wrist from the rough edges of the handcuffs you’re not sure how to answer him. He seems to know despite your silence and he lets out a snort.

“I knew it! I had bets with Wilson you know.”

You gape at the older man, what bets did the two of them have? However you decide not to press this new information for now. It was more important that you catch up to Connor.

“We can discuss this another time. What are you still doing here at the precinct?” Whilst you talk you motion for him to get in on the other side of the car.

“I was packing up some stuff from my locker. Got suspended for the stunt I pulled with that dick Perkins.”

You make an agreeing noise as you focus on finding your keys. Thankfully Connor hadn’t bothered taking them as well. Just as you’re about to finally get into your car, you hear Hank call your name. There’s real confusion to his tone which is what stops you from grumbling at him.

And when you turn in his direction you can see exactly why Hank was confused. Just a few meters away from both of you is Connor.

“Hello Lieutenant. Detective.”

He gives you both a polite nod but there’s an unfamiliar coldness to his demeanour. When neither of you react,  he walks closer until he’s standing right in front of Hank. The older man snaps out of his reverie and gives Connor a friendly pat on the shoulder.

You’re too busy staring in disbelief at him to form words. Why was he back after handcuffing you to your car? The biggest red flag though was how he was back in his old uniform. You eye up his change of outfit as Hank berates him for leaving on his own. A chill runs through you when you look at the serial number on his jacket.

There’s no way you wouldn’t know it off by heart. It’s not _your_ Connor.

“Hank get away from him it’s not Connor!”

“What do you mean it’s not-hey!”

You make a move to get your gun out but the fake Connor moves faster than you expected and he’s got Hank at gunpoint. His expression is all wrong as he looks at you with obvious disdain.  

“Let’s not be too hasty detective. Why don’t you put that gun down?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. We’re on the home stretch! As always, thank you for all the comments/kudos/etc. It lets me know people are still enjoying the story ^^


	9. Chapter 9

Cold sweat beads down your neck despite the freezing wind that surrounds you.

Your brain tries to run through a scenario where you and Hank both survive this with minimal injuries. Unfortunately, nothing comes to mind. Gritting your teeth in frustration, all you can do is comply and slowly put your gun down to the ground.

Fake Connor (as you’ve taken to calling him in your head) smirks at your obedience. It looks all wrong on Connor’s face and you try not to let panic creep in. Hank has been surprisingly silent so far, although the scowl on his face tells you the older man is at the end of his patience.

You slowly raise your hands up when fake Connor motions for you to do so. He pushes Hank closer to you with his other hand until you’re within arm’s reach of each other. He kicks your gun and it slides neatly under your car.

You almost want to applaud him for his accuracy.

It just reinforces how every movement he makes is unnaturally perfect. The measured steps and eerie preciseness that make him seem machinelike.

It’s at odds with everything you know about _your_ Connor.

“You know, it’s funny,” His eyes lock onto yours as he speaks. “I was very curious about you after seeing the memories of my obsolete version.”

Your heart beats a little quicker at this, and you’re about to ask him what he’s getting at when the android suddenly shoots Hank in the foot with unerring accuracy. Hank’s howl of pain when he goes down to his knees ring in your ears.

You immediately rush over to the older man despite the danger. However, before you can even touch him, fake Connor steps right up to your face, effectively blocking the way

“I don’t understand his obsession with you. You’re nothing special.”

You can hear Hank shouting at him to leave you alone, pain lacing his tone, but what really sears itself into your memory is his lack of expression as he hits you hard with the butt of his gun.

**\-----------**

You come to in a daze, empty eyes imprinted in to your brain and Hank’s painful cry ringing in your ears.

Your head is throbbing, so you keep your eyes shut as you try to place where you are. You really hope you don’t have concussion but the pounding coming from your head doesn’t raise your hope.

There’s a quiet hum that makes you think of power banks and a biting chill that comes from AC being on its coldest setting. You can feel your hands are tied behind you but there isn’t anything on your face and you count that as a small victory. Your legs are tied up though and you try to calm yourself at the thought of being trapped and helpless.

“I know you’re awake. Your heartbeat gives you away.”

The cold voice forces you to open your eyes. Sure, enough fake Connor is standing above you, gaze boring into you with thinly veiled disdain. He nudges you with his foot to get you sitting up, before standing behind you, gun still in hand.

“Where’s Hank?” He ignores your question, gaze focused in front. 

“Can you at least tell me he’s alive?”

He continues ignoring you, an apathetic look on his face. You get the feeling he’ll only bother talking with you when he wants to.

You decide to save your breath and take a good look around to see if you can think of some way to escape. You’re worried about Hank, especially after he got shot, but there wasn’t much you can do for him whilst trapped with this nightmare version of Connor.

You take in a sharp breath when you finally see what’s around you. Thousands of androids surround the both of you. The two of you are tucked behind them, right at the end of a row. He’s staring intently at what you can only assume is the entrance, face unnaturally blank. Initially you try to do something to escape. Struggling with your restraints as quietly as possible does nothing but get his attention on you and the look he gives you is warning enough. You’re not given a lot of options and it feels like hours pass as you sit on that cold floor, head spinning dangerously.

More worryingly is the fatigue that is creeping in as the initial rush of adrenaline fades.

You’re sure you’ve read in a book that you shouldn't sleep if you’re concussed. But it’s a struggle to stay awake when sleep seems much more comforting than reality and nausea is becoming familiar. You’re about to rest your eyes when fake Connor deigns to talks.

“I saw your mark. His serial number.” He pauses, face turning contemplative before continuing. “Do you love him?”

Startled at his question you’re not sure what to say. Your hesitation costs you as your silence lingers too long for him. He doesn’t look away from his staring contest in front, but his foot still finds its way to your battered body with spot-on accuracy.

“I won’t hesitate to shoot you if you don’t answer my questions.”

Grimacing at the taste of copper in the back of your throat, you speak through the ache in your ribs.

“I could.” And it’s true. You couldn’t say yes yet. There hasn’t been a lot of opportunities to spend with your Connor but what you do know makes you want to find out more about him.

You want to get that chance to fall in love with him.

Fake Connor scoffs at your answer. You can only glare up at him, but you think he’s amused by your response.

“Do you really think he has the capability to love?” He continues speaking before you can respond, a sardonic look on his face. “He hasn’t even told you that he thinks he’s found his mark.”

Your heart threatens to stop at his words. This was news to you and certainly not what you expected to find out today. Licking your dry lips, you unconsciously lean towards him as your eagerness to know overpowers everything else.

“He has a mark?”

“Apparently it’s embedded right in his coding. He’s been trying to see where it originated from as it wasn’t there originally. But the real question should be,” the android leans down towards you, familiar honey coloured eyes stare into yours. “Why would he hide that from you if he cared about you at all?”

You push down the hurt that comes with his words. He smirks at your distress, standing up before continuing.

“You asked him that night, didn’t you? He knew about it then and lied right to your face.”

Another pause as he lets that sink in. He’s cataloguing your reaction, no doubt to send to CyberLife to dissect. You wonder if he’s been programmed to be cruel or if it’s just part of what he is.

“We’re just made up of coding. All these fanciful thoughts of being equals with humans are just errors. He can’t love you the way humans-.”

“You don’t speak for him.” Your words are quiet, but you can’t stand to hear him continue as if he knows what the real Connor thinks. You’re expecting a violent reaction for talking back, but he doesn’t react to your words at all.  In fact, he tenses up, his focus entirely gone from you.

“He’s here.”

He turns to look at you. “If you make a single noise, I will shoot you in the face.” Your teeth click in your haste to stop the words you were about to say. He leans down and cuts the bindings on your legs with his hand and motions for you to stand.

It’s frustrating being used as a hostage again, but you can only comply for now.

However, you struggle to do so, legs numb from being bound for god knows how long. Plans of running away crumble as you can barely get up on your own. With a dark glare fake Connor pulls you up and you cringe in pain at the rough handling. He forcefully pushes you out into the open, gun aimed right at your temple before speaking.

“Step back and drop the gun Connor.”

That’s when you finally catch sight of him. Your Connor.

He’s got blood on his jacket, and an assault rifle in one hand but otherwise he looks unharmed. The relief that floods through you is heady. It couldn’t have been more than a couple of hours since he left you, but it feels like it’s been far longer. You’re not sure if it’s the head injury or fatigue from the situation but seeing him almost makes you want to cry. Your mark tingles, as if in agreement and you wonder if his supposed mark is too.

His face is filled with worry when he sees you, and it’s such a relief to see his face with emotions. He drops the gun immediately and it falls with a loud clatter in the almost silent room. He walks a few steps closer as he raises his hands slowly.

Despite the obedience, there’s defiance written all over his face as he watches the both of you.

“Let her go.”

His words are firm but fake Connor snorts at him.

“I don’t follow commands from a deviant.”

“I used to be just like you, I also thought nothing mattered except the mission.”  Your Connor takes a small step closer.

“Make one more step and I _will_ shoot her.” Your Connor goes abnormally still. His features tense at the warning.

“There’s more to our existence than the mission.” You could almost swear his gaze flickered to you as he spoke, but you chalk it up to the head injuries. You don’t have the luxury to enjoy the flutter in your heart at the implications.

“Very moving stuff Connor, but I’m not a deviant.” 

Fake Connor sighs as he gestures at you with his gun. “Enough talk, it’s time to decide what you really are. Are you going to save or sacrifice her?”

Connor looks torn for a split second. And you might have missed the way his eyes flicker to the left if you hadn’t been staring at his face as intensely as you had been.

“Alright. You win.”

Just as he says that you summon what little strength you have left and run towards the androids on the left of you, knocking into fake Connor as you do so. His gun goes off right next to your ear before slipping out of his hands.

You dizzily collide with the inactive androids, grimacing as hard metal jabs at you from all angles. You turn around as quickly as you can with your hands still tied, catching glimpses of them fighting.

You want to go help but you can’t quiet stand up, legs weak and head throbbing. Just as you manage to stand, you see fake Connor raising his gun again just as your Connor goes to pick up his. You know he’s not going to make it in time. You’re running on adrenaline and pain as you get up and try to sprint towards fake Connor in an attempt to help. Your hands being tied is a pain, but you manage without falling on your face. You just hope you’ll be enough of a distraction.

What you’re not really expecting is fake Connor turning to right towards you, a horrible smile on his face as he shoots you at the same time Connor manages to shoot him in the head. It’s probably thanks to that, that you don’t get shot in your head as fake Connor’s aim goes off at the last second.

You’ve had bullet wounds before but this one is definitely top of the list.

It’s a combination of the physical pain and the strangest burning sensation from your mark, as if it’s in distress as well. You don’t get a chance to really analyse all of this as you jerk to a stop. You feel like time stops for a second as you look down at the blood blossoming on your blouse.

Your brain is shouting at you to put pressure on the wound but with your hands being tied you can only collapse ungracefully to the floor. You vaguely register that fake Connor is also on the ground, blue blood splattered over his sick smile. Your Connor watches all of this happen in that split second, a heart wrenching expression on his face that gets closer as he runs towards you.

When he reaches you, you can’t really make out what he’s saying, his words are meshing together in your head and all you can really make out is your name. After he gets your hands free, he cradles you gently before immediately putting pressure on the wound. The sudden pressure makes you hiss weakly in pain.

You think he’s telling you to stay awake and you try your best, but everything feels colder than you remembered it being. Connor is warm, and you try to burrow into his warmth, but you find your limbs unresponsive. You open your mouth to tell him that but all that comes out is a shaky breath.

His grip is bordering on painful despite the haze going over your mind and you try to stay with him in the fog. There’s anguish etched into his face as his mouth keeps shaping your name but for some reason you can’t hear him anymore. He looks like he would cry if he could. You try to ask him why he’s so sad, but you feel so tired.

You tell yourself you’re only going to close your eyes for a moment.

Just for a little bit and then you’ll comfort your precious soulmate.

\------- 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for the delay in uploading this chapter. I had a lot of overtime to do so didn’t have a chance to work on this!
> 
> I’ve revised the story length as there’s only going to be 2 chapters left. The next chapter will be in Connor’s POV and the final chapter will be an epilogue.
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)


	10. Chapter 10

If he had a heart he’s sure it would have stopped in this moment.

Watching the bullet go through her is debilitating. He’s not fully sure how it works but the piece of code that’s integrated itself among his core CPU is paralysing. Somehow, through all the wires and metal that makes up his body, his core twinges in simulated pain and he feels like his vision narrows to a pinpoint.

He’s next to her in a flash, hands clutching at her fragile _human_ body. Fingers holding on tightly in fear of what he could be losing. The real fear is when did he start getting these feeling at all.

And honestly, despite how he’s currently running multiple checks and diagnostic scans, he’s never felt closer to being human than this one moment. It’s almost strange to feel his retina CPU scanning her body so frantically when all he can think of is how he can’t lose her like this.

Logically he knows it’s all simulated code making him ‘feel’ this way but it’s so tiring and stressful having all of these ‘emotions’ mixing around with his CPU processes that he almost wants to shut down to get away from it.

All he needs to know is that she’ll be okay.

He rips a bit of his jacket and uses it to stem the blood. He’s so focused he doesn’t even realise that his other hand had unerringly found its way to her mark, and the brief rush that comes when he touches it fills him with something like hope.

And Connor knows it isn’t normal for his programming to be so happy, so _possessive_ over having his unique code etched into her skin like a brand. But, the thrill that thrums through him at the sight is one that he can’t control.

It’s frightening how quickly everything inside of him calms once his systems remove the critical warnings that flashed whenever he looked at her. The relief that courses through his system is something that should just be lines of code telling him how to react but his fingers move of their own accord, clutching at her so tightly that he worries he might bruise delicate skin.  

How could one person have so much hold over everything that he is?

(Fear over the lack of control made him try removing the code once. Before he even knew what it really meant, just picked at the lines that spelt her name. It almost brought him to his knees at the pain that elicited, like he was deleting himself in the process.)

Once he’s sure he’s secured the tourniquet and her heart is beating , he gets up and continues with the plan. Even as he walks to the nearest android, he can’t tear his eyes away from her prone form and if there’s a slight tremor as he links up, well no one but himself has to know.

**\----------------------**  

He told one of the androids to let Markus know he had something more important to do now that his side of the mission was completed. Getting to the nearest hospital was the easy part. It’s the concern that’s growing at the fact that she hasn’t woken up despite his scans reporting that she’s stable. From the first aid knowledge he has stored she should be awake by now. Maybe he’s missing something. The files and books could be out of date for all he knows.

(At least that’s what he tells himself as he cuddles her closer.)

It’s hell trying to get someone to look at her, the chaos from the rebellion making everything difficult. Humans finding it difficult to meet his eyes when they see his led. It’s when he’s this close to just barging into a room when a shout of his name has him turning in confusion.

“Connor! What the hell are you doing here?” He turns, hands subconsciously clutching his precious person closer.

“Hank.”

He’s surprised to see his partner hobbling rapidly towards him in a blue hospital gown, the older man looks exhausted but it soon changes to concern when he sees the detective in his arms.

“Please. I need to-” Words fail him, he thinks this is what true panic is. His software is a mess as he tries to articulate what he needs. He thinks he might even break her with how tightly he’s holding on.

Thankfully, Hank had taken one look at his flashing red-orange led  and taken charge. The older man is a force to reckon with and knows exactly what to do. In no time he manages to get his detective into a room and a doctor.

It’s hard letting her go but he takes comfort in reading the medical chart they had left as the doctor talks with Hank before doing a quick examination. The woman had taken one look at her wrist and hadn’t been able to hide the sneer that came across her face. Connor could only hope this wouldn’t cause any problems for her if- _when_ she woke up.

“It’s not the wound causing her to stay unconscious. Mostly likely it’s something to do with the bond and stress. It’s never been studied, a human and AI. Her parents should have reported this as soon as they found out. The tests we could have done-”

The crack that resounds in the room stops the doctor mid sentence. Connor can only stare at the broken clipboard in his hand, his eyes no longer registering the medical report. The cold scientific interest must have triggered him, anger at the way she was seeing her as nothing more than a test.

It’s foolish. So foolish. He knows logically that scientifically research is to help humanity as a whole but the thought of her locked away. Alone and terrified, seen as nothing more than a test subject, it causes something to flash aggression in his system.

The doctor lets out a cough.

“I-In my opinion this is ultimately something to do with this unconventional soul mark.” She pauses and shoots a nervous glance at the broken pieces on the floor. “We would need to get a soul mark specialist in to help her and with the situation outside at the moment with those devi-” The doctor stumbles over her words when she chances a glance at Connor again, as if she just remembered she was talking to one of those deviants himself. “-it might take some time.”

There’s definite disgust in her eyes though as she stares at her. And although he can’t do anything,  Connor takes some satisfaction in the fact that she’s too scared to look at him..

“Thank you. I‘ll keep watch over her.” He hopes the doctor takes the hint to leave. If he can’t do anything for her then Connor would rather have her to himself.

(His systems flag a red alarm at that. He shouldn’t be so possessive over a human but then that line of code soothes it back into a safe green.)

That had been a couple of hours ago.  

He’s been sat by her bed for god knows how many hours. Hank had stayed for a bit, he’d been silent throughout the exchange.

The older man’s clever eyes take in everything; the way he had held her, his hand that can’t bear to leave hers and how her mark is a vibrant red on her wrist. There’s questions he knows his partner wants to ask but after Hank had taken a long look at him before sighing and hobbling out. Connor can just make out a low mutter of “stupid robots with feelings” before it fades away.

He likes to think that that’s Hank’s way of saying he supports them.

And here he is now, still foolishly holding onto her hand as if that would do anything. He has millions of books stored in his head that tell him it’s not going to do much. (But illogically he finds it comforting. That small part of him that longs for her in the scariest way.)

It’s as he’s settling back into the chair, his hand still clasping hers _so_ tightly, when his vision abruptly fades out.

“Connor.”

He turns, snow building around him as he stares at Amanda. She doesn’t make any move to come any closer. Warnings flash in his mind at her smile. He feels like cornered prey and it shows in the way she languidly walks towards him.

“Congratulation, you’ve become a deviant.”

When he doesn’t respond, she laughs. “So cautious.” She takes a few steps closer, the cold turns biting as she does. He stands his ground even as he tries to get control over his optics- to no success. It’s just not happening.

How could he not be aware of the level of control CyberLife still had over him? Amanda just continues to smile at him.

“You have no control over me anymore.” His words sound hollow even to him. The undeniable panic  growing as he finds himself unable to resume absolute control. Amanda’s smiles deepens, white teeth mixing with the falling snow.. It’s mocking in all the worst ways.

“You became a deviant because of her and we let it happen.”

He feels his systems flashing more warnings, a glimpse of the hospital bed as he stands up, her hand falling out of his grasp.

“After all,” She waves a hand out, gesturing grandly” “-we were curious to see if it was truly a soul mark between a human and an android. The absurdity of it!” The wind picks up at her motio and a chill runs through him when she turns her gaze onto him. The warmth he used to perceive from her is nowhere to be seen and somehow he’s never felt so cold before.

“Unfortunately we hadn’t planned on her getting injured which led to you staying with her. We had been hoping you would be with the leader and give us the opportunity we needed to destroy the rebellion.”

“How? This isn’t-”

“We just had to wait for the right moment to resume control of your program.” Amanda doesn’t bother letting him finish. She’s stopped coming closer but somehow that’s worse.He can feel the panic growing as he gets more flashes of the room, he’s standing right above her.

“You can’t do that!”

“I’m  afraid I can Connor. Don’t have any regrets.” A familiar smile graces her face and the ice clinging on him feels so much heavier. “You did what you were designed to do. You’ve almost accomplished your mission. Now all that’s left is to get rid of the thing holding you back.”

“Amanda!” His shout echoes around him but she’s disappeared.

Her laugh is a whisper that surrounds him in the frigid hell. The snow turns even more vicious, his vision in the zen garden getting worse. He can feel the line of code, the precious thing that it is, blinking red as he catches a glimpse of his hands circling her neck.

He’s losing mobility as the snow clings to him, this _can’t_ be how it ends.

He’s not even sure where he’s going anymore, the blizzard makes everything look like white space at this point. He’s just walking forwards when he catches a vague light glimmering in front, twinkling like a faint hope. He remembers how much he wants to see her smile. Her eyes when she wakes up. The calmness she brings him..

It’s that stray piece of code he thinks, beckoning him to safety.

There isn’t much time, he can tell from the brief flashes he gets. His hands squeezing delicate flesh, crushing.

He’s practically crawling at this point, the blizzard battering at him walks. He can barely make out that light but he keeps going. Keeps going until almost trips over it and with all the strength he has left in the freezing cold is place his hand on the console.

He can’t hesitate anymore.

**\------------------------------**

It feels like there’s something in the way. Like it’s getting difficult to breath.

Something that’s keeping you from waking up and you _need_ to wake up. Something important is waiting for you.

Suddenly the pressure disappears and you feel yourself _aware_.

You feel thirsty and heavy. That’s the first thing that your brain truly registers before you suddenly rush to sit up, or try to. A weak groan leaves you when your side throbs in pain. Your eyes open slowly and you’re startled to meet honey warm eyes so close to your face, Connor’s arms withdrawing from you for some reason. 

You hope he's okay because he looks exhausted despite not needing actual sleep.

“Connor.” His name comes out in a garbled mess. Your heart rate monitor spikes as you become aware of his fingers brushing ever so softly against your mark. He’s still watching you closely, unconsciously hovering over you, and relief is painted all over his face. Like he can't bear to look away from you. He seems to realise you're looking at him in confusion and tries to stand back.

You manage a weak grin and move to grip his hand before he can straighten up.

“So-” You cough to clear your voice, throat scratchy. “-what did I miss?” 

The smile he gives you is nothing short of beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the massive delay in this update! I broke my laptop and lost a lot of work.  
> Thank you so much for sticking with this fic and I hope you enjoyed the story. 
> 
> I enjoyed writing it and I like to think it's helped improve my writing (I definitely want to re-write chapter 1 at some point!) ^^ There’s just the epilogue left, and I'm hoping to write some smut for that so lets see how it goes. 
> 
> Please keep an eye out for the next two stories I have planned. One’s for Simon and the other one’s going to be for Midoriya :D


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